Shot entirely in the back of a car, the film follows three aspiring criminals as they grab a local troublemaker who owes them money, throw him into the back of a car and speed off into the night. The macho facade crumbles, and the journey gradually descends into chaos, as the men drive through the night looking for the elusive perfect spot to teach their captive a lesson.

Director’s Vision

It is an ancient cinematic trope: a man is kidnapped, thrown into the back of a car, and led away to a violent end.

In Face Down in the Back of a Car, I wanted to explore what we don’t see in this scenario. The long drive between those two stops where the macho posturing fades, the adrenaline drops, and boredom and awkwardness sets in. A group of men, stuck in a car together, for hours.

These characters had to be real, not the usual romanticised badass hardmen. Beneath the bravado, they are deeply insecure and pathetic – men trying to find redemption through a violent act they are too scared to enact.

This film portrays the emptiness of aggressive projected masculinity – the neuroses that propel it, and the shallow depths that lie behind it.